As the tale opens, the protagonist Gregor Samsa completely changes into an insect. Gregor undergoes very little character development throughout the excerpt, most noticeably in his dual identities as a man and an insect. Given all the challenges he faces, one might expect him to totally alter his personality, but he doesn't. Gregor accepts his circumstances without complaining. He doesn't ask how or why the situation changed. Instead, he can make peace with his insect body and human consciousness. A significant impact on Gregor’s psychology is evident where he is shown to enjoy hiding in the dark under the sofa and crawling on the ceiling and walls like a bug (p. 15). Even after transformation, Gregor does not freak out. He is only frustrated about his family and his sexuality. This excerpt seeks to bring out his attitude towards the transformation, which can be described as hopeful and mundane.
A clear evidence of his ordinary attitude towards his transformation is shown where the author writes about his openness towards some cool features of his new vermin body. He is even able to experience happiness, pleasure, and empty contemplation even when anxiety kicks in. Gregor begins to realize how much of a demanding career he chose and how bad his days of humanity were after the transformation. “Doing business like this takes much more effort than doing your own business at home.” Kafka (p. 2)
Gregor’s ordinary and hopeful attitude is quite unnatural. His mundane attitude depicts him to be more humane than the other characters in the story. His family, for example, is disgusted by him and ashamed of his presence in the house. This does not deter him in any way. He is persistent on wanting a new role in his family. His attitude sponsors this awareness and encourages him in his life as a horrible vermin. At some point, the author makes it clear that he was even haunted by the thought of controlling his family affairs once again. Despite being too hopeful, he makes a decision to leave and disappear entirely for it would be in the best interest of his family and so he dies, accepting his fate with no complaint.
References
Kafka, Franz. Metamorphosis. Trans. David Wyllie. 2005.
